Current Events that Relate to History
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CommentThe Magic Thinking of Kennedy-ism
The hero worship of the family of American royalty has a dark side: a tendency toward conspiracism that fits with the MAGA movement.The American Prospect -
Book ReviewAging Out
Many of us do not go gentle into that good night.The American Scholar -
ArgumentBring Back the War Department
If you want a clear strategy for winning wars, don’t play a semantic game with the name of the department that’s charged with the strategy’s execution.The Atlantic -
CommentHow ‘Blackbirders’ Forced Tens of Thousands of Pacific Islanders Into Slavery After the Civil War
The decline of Southern industries paved the way for plantations in Fiji and Australia, where victims of “blackbirding” endured horrific working conditions.Smithsonian -
CommentReagan Resurgent?
Commentary on America’s 40th president often misses how the Gipper blended principles and pragmatism for a truly conservative statesmanship.Law & Liberty -
ComparisonThe First Punch
There are uncanny parallels between the elections of 2024 and 1856, with one big exception: in 1856, it was the political left that was on the offensive.Harper's -
exhibitAmerican Foodways
This exhibit explores the history of the ways Americans eat, from the influences on our cooking to the regional specificities of our meals to the ways we celebrate around family tables.
From the HNN Archive
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Letting the World Scream
In 1984, the U.S. rejected the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction, revealing its tendency to ignore international rules it sees as unfavorable — even when it helped write them. -
Ohio’s Little-Known Fascist Member of Congress
How a local prosecutor protected white supremacists and went on to a career in Washington, DC. -
The Other Sherman’s March
How the younger brother of the famous general set out to destroy the scourge of monopoly power. -
Why Does American History Feel Like Ancient History to High School Students?
An argument for returning the recent past, and the history of modern conservatism, to classrooms. -
The Forebears of JD Vance and the New Right
Revisiting the Agrarian-Distributists and their fabrication of an American past. -
Regency Sex Ed
How did women in 19th-century Europe learn about the birds and the bees?